Shoe rack positioning devices



y 1966 B. A. STROUT 3,252,584

SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICES Filed lklay 29, 1964 'T Sheets-Sheet 1 Vint/e for 512517 A. 52202? 55/ his Azlomey y 1966 B. A. STROUT 3,252,584

SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICES Filed May 29, 1964 7 Sheets-5heet 2 B. A.STROUT May 24, 1966 SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledMay 29, 1964 y 1966 B. A. STROUT 3,252,584

SHOE RACK PGSITIONING DEVICES Filed May 29, 1964 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

90 f I T 1 LL I i 1 76 F "1 i i L W J I i g i J l I May 24, 1966 B. A.STROUT SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICES '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 29,1964 May 24, 1966 s. A. STROUT SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICES '7Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 29, 1964 May 24, 1966 B. A. STROUT SHOE RACKPOSITIONING DEVICES T Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed May 29, 1964 United StatesPatent 3,252,584 SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICES Basil A. Strout, 10Birchwood Ave., Saugus, Mass. Filed May 29, 1964, Ser. No. 371,207 13Claims. (Cl. 211-176) This invention relates to a shoe rack positioningdevice. More particularly, the invention is directed toward a device forholding and elevating to a convenient shoe machine operator Workinglevel a standard shoe factory shoe rack.

Heretofore, it has been the practice in shoe factories to transportshoes from one shoe machine station to another in a shoe rack comprisinga frame supporting several shelves which are adapted to receive shoesand retain them in relatively accessible positions. The rack is fittedwith rollers which permit the rack to be easily maneuvered about a shoefactory. Normally, such a rack is pushed into position alongside aworkman operating a shoemaking machine. The operator removes the shoesfrom the rack one at a time, performs his particular task upon them, andreturns them to the rack. Regardless of the position of the rack, thereis invariably some extended stretching on the part of the machineoperator in reaching for the furtherrnost shoes on the lower shelves.

It is an object of the invention to provide a shoe rack positioningdevice which will receive, hold, and elevate a standard shoe factoryshoe rack and, When desired by the workman, lower the rack to the floorlevel and release the shoe rack for removal from that particularstation.

The positioning device is permanently installed next to a shoe machinein substantially the same position as the shoe racks have heretoforebeen located when supplying shoes to a shoe machine operator. A shoerack is guided by hand or by conveyor means into the device. By manualcontrol or by automatic means the device then raises the shoe rack to aheight which positions the lower shelves at a convenient location forthe shoe machine operator. The rack is automatically locked in thedevice when it starts its ascent. With the rack in a raised position,the operator may easily reach the lowest and furthermost shoes withoutthe usual bending and stretching. The operator may then, by quick handmotion, cause the device to lower the shoe rack back to the floor levelso that the upper shelves of the rack are in a convenient location. Whenthe shoe rack is returned to the floor level an automatic release causesthe device to unlock the shoe rack so that it may be moved along to thenext station and another take its place.

The above and other objects and features of the invention, includingvarious novel details of constructionand combinations of parts, will nowbe more particularly described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and pointed out in the claims. the particular devices embodyingthe invention are shown by way of illustration only and not as alimitation of the invention. The principles and features of thisinvention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device which is shown with its racksupporting carriage in the upper position holding a shoe rack at aconvenient working level. Phantom drawings show the lower positions ofcomponents of the carriage. The shoe rack shelves are, with oneexception, cut away or stripped down so that the positioning device maybetter be seen;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the carriage of thepositioning device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another portion of It will be understoodthat 3,252,584 Patented May 24, 1966 the carriage of the positioningdevice with phantom positions to show rotative movements of a carriagemember;

FIG. 4 is a perspective View of a Wire mounting block with portions cutaway for clarity;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the carriage showing fromanother angle that portion shown in FIG. 2, and showing, with some partsexploded, a valve actuating mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the valve actuating mechanism with someparts exploded for greater clarity;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic showing of the hydraulic system of thepositioning device;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of theinvention, shown holding a shoe rack in the raised positions. Phantomdrawings show the lower position of components of the carriage;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of one of the upright frame membersand a portion of the carriage of the device;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a control valve;

FIG. 11 is a top view of one of the upright frame members and a portionof the carriage of the device;

FIG. 12 is a top view of a second upright frame member and a portion ofthe carriage of the device;

FIG. 13 is a detailed sectional view of the upper end of a carriagemember; and

FIG. 14 is a detailed perspective View of the automatic locking featureof the invention.

The illustrated device has a pair of floor plates 2, 4 which aresecurely attached to the floor alongside a shoe machine operatorposition. An upright pole 6 is one of two vertical frame members and isfixedly mounted on the upper surface of the floor plate 2. An uprightpost 8 comprises the second vertical frame member and is fixedly mountedon the upper surface of the floor plate 4. Attached to the upper ends ofthe pole 6 and the post 8 is a top plate 10 which is disposedapproximately seven feet from the floor, and which retains the pole 6and the post 8 in parallel attitude. A tube 12 is slidingly disposedupon the pole 6. In the down position the tube 12 has limited rotationalfreedom to facilitate the easy entrance and withdrawal of a shoe rack.Attached to the upper portion of the tube 12 is an upper locating bar 14having flared ends 16, 18 which guide the shoe rack into position andwhich tend to retain the shoe rack in the positioning device. Attachedto the lower end of the tube 12 is a lower locating bar 20 having flaredends 26, 28, and a bottom plate which are adapted to receive and, incooperation with the flared ends 16, 18, retain one end of a shoe rackin the positioning device. A stop 22 is mounted on the pole6 (FIG. 3)and cooperates with a cut out portion of the tube 12 to limit itsrotational movement when the tube 12 is in its down position to permitmovement of the locating bar 20 between the phantom position of FIG. 1and the position in which it is parallel to the plate 2, withcorresponding movements of the locating bar 14. Extending downwardlyfrom the cut out portion of the tube is aslot 13 which cooperates withthe stop 22 when the tube is elevated to prevent rotation thereof. Thestop 22 may also be used to secure a pair of braces 24 thereto withscrews.

A slide assembly 32 is slidingly disposed upon the post 8. Attached tothe lower end of the slide assembly 32 are tongue members 34, 35 havingtheir lower ends interconnected by a bottom plate 36. In the vicinity ofthe tongue members 34, 35 in the down position, the post S has :a dogleg bend 38 to facilitate the receiving of the shoe rack, particularlythose having bot-tom boards extending well beyond the end rails of therack.

The top plate 10 has mounted thereon an air cylinder '40 which receivesa piston rod 42. Attached to the free end of the piston rod 42 are apair of wires 44, 46. The wire 44 takes a half turn around a pulley 48(FIG. 1) which is rotatably mounted on the top plate 10, takes aquarter-turn around a pulley 50 which is rotatably mounted on the topplate, and extends to, and is attached to, a screw 52 which threadedlyenters a projection 53 of the tube 12 (FIG. 3). The pulley 50 isdisposed generally above and in alignment with the pole 6 so thatthewire 44', between the pulley 50 and the tube 12, is substantiallyvertical. The wire 46 takes a quarter-turn around the pulley 48 andextends to, and is attached to, a screw 54 which threadedly enters abracket 56 which is fixedly attached to the slide assembly 32. The wire46 between the roller '48 and the slide assembly 32, is substantiallyvertical. Thus, when the cylinder 40 is activated so as to draw in thepiston rod 42 the wires 44 and 46 exert an equal upward pull on theslidable tube 12 and the slide assembly 32.

Mounted on the upper end of the slide assembly 32 is a valve actuatingmeans 60 which causes the device to raise a shoe rack eitherautomatically or upon signal from the operator, and which upon signalfrom the operator, causes the device to lower the rack. Attached to theslide assembly 32 is a bifurcated lug 62 (FIGS. and 6) mounting a pivotpin 64. Pivotally mounted upon the pivot pin 64 is a lever 66 on one endof which there is mounted an end plate 68. The end plate 68 retains ascrew 69 which engages a block 70, which in turn engages a valveactuating plate 72. The valve actuating plate 72 is, when the slide rod32 is in the down position, aligned with a plunger 74 which enters apilot valve 76. An angled corner piece 77 guides the shoe rack intoengagement with the free end of the lever 66. Thus, outward movement ofthe free end of the lever 66, as by the pushing of of a shoe rackagainst it, will cause the lever topivot about the pin 64, carrying theend plate 68 inwards, thereby causing the block 70 to move inwards, theblock 70 urging the valve actuating plate 72 inwards. Inward movement ofthe plate 72 forces the plunger 74 into the pilot valve 76, opening thevalve 76 and causing the raising of the shoe rack, as will be furtherexplained below,

Also attached to the slide assembly 32 is a spring, mounting plate 88 onwhich is fitted one end of a coil spring 82. The other end of the coilspring is attached to a cam follower 84 which is fixed on one end of arod 86 which is rotatably mounted in a horizontal plane in the slideassembly 32. A lug 88 is fixed to the other end of the rod 86. A cam 90is attached to the post 8 and is in the vertical path of the camfollower 84. When the slide assembly 32 is in the lower position the camfollower 84 is maintained by the cam 90 in the position shown in FIG. 6,so that the lug 88 is in a substantially vertical attitude, neitherblocking entrance of a shoe rack nor holding a shoe rack in the device.However, as soon as the slide assembly 32 starts its ascent, the camfollower 84 moves out of engagement with the cant 90 and the coil spring82 pulls the cam follower 84 into the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.Such movement of the cam follower 84 causes rotation of the rod 86 andits attached lug 88, which is caused to move from a substantiallyvertical position to a substantially horizontal attitude. The lug 88 isthen in position to lock a shoe rack in the device, one end of the shoerack being held by the flared bar ends 16, 18, 26 and 28, and the otherend by the lever 66 on one side and the lug 88 on the other side. Upondescent of the slide assembly 32, the cam 90 again forces a change inthe position of the cam follower 84 with a corresponding change in theposition of the lug 88, thereby moving the lug 88 from a lockingposition. The tube 12 and its aforementioned attachments, and the slideassembly 32, and its aforementioned attachments, together form acarriage which is slidably mounted on a frame comprising the two uprightframe members, the pole 6 and the post 8, and the top plate 10.

A hand control plate 92 is attached at one end to the block 78 and isalso connected to the lever 66 through an interconnecting bifurcatedlink 94 which is attached to the hand plate 92 by a pivot pin 95. A coilspring 91 mounted on a pin 93 exerts a spring pressure upon the handcontrol plate 92. The arrangement issuch that a movement of the plate92, as indicated by the arrow H in FIG. 6, causes an inward movement ofthe block 70 and the valve actuating plate 72. When the slide rod 'is inits up position the valve actuating plate 72 is aligned with a plunger96 (FIG. 5) which enters apilot valve 98. Thus, by pressing against theinward surface of the plate 9 2, the valve actuating plate 72 is causedto push the plunger 96 into the pilot valve 98. Activation of the pilotvalve 98 causes the slide assembly 32 and tube 12 to lower to the downposition, as will be further explained below. A threaded pin 97 (FIG. 6)is anchored in the lug62 and passes through an opening 63 in the lever66. The pin 97 has a nut 99 mounted thereon between the lever 66 and thelug 62 which may be threadedly adjusted to abut the lever 66 so as toprevent the pivotal motion of the lever 66 and place the machine in asemi-automatic status for both raising and lowering the carriage. Whenthis is done, raising the carriage, as well as lowering it, is initiatedby manual movement of the hand plate 92.

A mounting block 100 (FIG. 4) is fixed to the free end of the piston rod42. The mounting block has two bores 104 for receiving the wires 44, 46which are secured to the mounting block by a pair of screws 106 enteringthe bores at right angles thereto in well known fashion. Thus, byloosening a screw a wire may be drawn so as to lengthen or shorten itwith respect to the carriage and then made secure by tightening thescrew down against the wire in its bore. A guide block 102 is attachedto, or may be an integral part of, the mounting block 100. The guideblock slides along the front of the top plate 10 (FIG. 1) preventing anyrotational movement of the piston rod 42.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be noted that the piston rod 42 is wellextended and that the slide assembly 32 is in the down position. A shoerack striking against the lever 66 causes it to rotate about the pivotpin 64 so that the valve actuating plate 72 actuates the pilot valve 76which allows a surge of air under pressure to pass through that valveand on to a two-way valve 75 mounted on'the rear of the top plate 10(FIG. 1), which is thereby opened so as to admit air from a main airline L into the cylinder 40. The piston in the cylinder 40 is forcedtoward the closed end of the piston, drawing the piston rod 42 into thecylinder. The wires 44 (not shown in FIG. 6) and 46 are accordinglydrawn upwards, causing the carriage to be raised. The pilot valve '76 isspring biased and snaps back to an exhaust position but the valve 75remains open. At the end of the piston stroke the valve actuating plate72 is just opposite the pilot valve 98. When it is desirable to lowerthe rack, the operator manually actuates the valve 98 by use of the handplate 92, which momentarily opens the valve 98 and allows a surge of airto pass through the valve 98 which reverses the position of the two-wayvalve 75, permitting air in the cylinder 40 to escape. The weight of thecarriage pulls the piston rod out of the cylinder.

Referring to FIG. 1, it may be seen that a standard shoe rack comprisesessentially a pair of bottom boards B1, B2, vertical end rails E1, E2,E3, E4, shelves S1, S2, S3, S4 and four rollers, three of which areshown, R1, R2, and R4.

In operation, a factory shoe rack is pushed along toward the positioningdevice with the leading end, or side, being directed toward the uprightpole 6. The upper and lower locating bars 14 and 20 are rotated on thepole 6 until the tube 12 is prevented from further rotation by the stop22. This will normally be done upon removing a rack from the positioningdevice. The-lower bar will then be in the position shown in phantom inFIG. 1 and designated 20" and the upper bar 14 will be in acorresponding position shown in phantom in FIG. 3 and designated 14. Theleading end of the shoe rack is guided into engagement with the upperand lower locating bars. The flared ends 16, 18 and 26, 28 assist inguiding the shoe rack against the locating bars 14 and 20. When the shoerack is abutting the lower bar 20 the bottom plate 30 is under the endof the shoe rack.

The trailing end of the shoe rack is then moved sideways, generallytoward the upright post 8, and is pushed to a point at which it is overthe bottom plate 36. The end rail E3 is pushed against the lever 66, thecorner piece 77 directing the end rail E3 against the free end of thelever. When the trailing end of the shoe rack is moved sideways, thelower bar 20 moves from position 20" to position 20' as shown in FIG. 1the upper bar 14 moving in a similar manner from position 14' as shownin FIG. 3. The engagement of the end rail E3 with the lever 66 causesthe lever to move as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 6, assuming thepin 97 is set to permit automatic operation. Thereupon the lever 66pivots about the-pivot pin 64 and, as is described above, causes theopening of the valve 76 which in turn causes the right end of thecylinder 40 to be charged with ressurized air. The piston rod 42 isdrawn into the cylinder and, through the wires 44, -46 draws the tube 12and the slide assembly 32 upwards. The cam follower 84 shifts at thestart of the upward movement and positions the lug 88 so as to securelyretain the shoe rack in the carriage. If the end rail E3 fails to makesufiicient contact with the lever 66 to cause its operation, theoperator may, by slapping the hand plate 92, open the valve 76.

It has been found that an elevation of about twenty inches is aconvenient working level for most shoe machine operators. Slightadjustments in elevating height may be made by turning the screws 52,54. Larger adjustments may be made by drawing up or easing ofi the wires44, 46 at the mounting block 100.

With the carriage in the up position (FIGS. 1 and 5) the shoe machineoperator easily reaches the lower shelves of the shoe rack which are nowabout twenty inches higher than normal. When the operator is ready forthe upper shelves, he merely slaps the hand plate 92 and thereby opensthe pivot valve 98 which causes air to be released from the cylinder 40.The weight of the carriage draws the piston rod 42 out of the cylinderand the rack is smoothly returned to floor level. The cam follower 84strikes the cam 90 and causes the lug 88 to move to a non-lockingposition. The rack is thereby made free to be wheeled out of thatstation and on to the next. As soon as the operator has finished theupper shelves, the shoe rack is removed from the device, in the reverseorder of its insertion, and the locating bars 14, 20 are turnedoutwardand left in positions corresponding to 20 of the lower bar and 14of the upper bar, ready to receive the forward end of another shoe rack.

It will be obvious that the positions of thevalve actuating means 60 andthe lug 88, and their associated members, may be reversed if factoryspace limitations or wall locations make it desirable to have the shoerack enter the positioning device from the opposite side. The locatingbars on the tube 12 can be angled toward either side, as indicated byphantom positions 14 and 14" in FIG. 3. Additionally, the bottom plates30, 36 and the horizontal portions of the tongues 34, may be hinged soas to permit swinging of the bottom plates upwards. This arrangement isuseful where racks have rollers close to the ends of the rack and thereis danger of a set of rollers being pinned beneath a bottom plate.

Referring to FIGS. 8-14, an alternative embodiment of the invention maybe seen having floor plates 202, 204

which are secured to the floor alongside a shoe machine operatorposition. Triangularly shaped brace members 203 and 205 are attached tothe floor plate 202 and hold in a vertical position one of two uprightframe members, post 206. A pair of braces 207, 209 are secured to thefloor plate 204 and retain the second of the two upright members, post208. A top bar 210 interconnects the posts 206, 208 at their upper ends.Both posts 206, 208 have channels 212, 214 which face each other andwhich receive slide rods 216, 218. The slide rod 216 has an upperlocating bar 220 with flared ends 222,

224, and a lower locating bar 226 with flared ends 228, 230, recesses232, 234 and a bottom plate 236, which cooperate to receive the forwardend of .a shoe rack. Notches 237 (FIGS. 8 and 11) in the post 206 permitlimited rotation of the slide rod 216 when in the down position, theextent of which is indicated in phantom in FIG. 11.

ends of two wires 248, 250. The wire 248 extends upwards to, and takes aquarter-turn around, a pulley 251 which is mounted on the top bar 210,extends to a second pulley 253 mounted on the top bar takes aquarterturn around the pulley 253 and extends downward through thechannel 212 and is attached to the slide rod 216. The wire 250 extendsupwards to, and takes a halfturn around, the pulley 251, and extendsdownward through the channel 214 and is attached to the slide rod 218(FIG. 13). Each of the slide rods retain in its upper end a hook, as 255in the slide rod 218, for receiving a looped end of wire.

The slide rod 218 has a cross bar 252 attached to its lower end, thecross bar having flared ends 254, 256, one of which facilitates guidingthe trailing end of a shoe rack into position in the device, dependingon the side from which the shoe rack is to enter the device. Attached tothe cross bar 252 are two tongues 258, 260 which are interconnected attheir lower ends by a bottom plate 262. The slide rods 216, 218 andtheir attachments comprise a carriage which is mounted in a framecomprising the two upright frame members, posts 206 and 208, and the topbar 210.

A cross bar 264 is attached to the upper end of the slide rod 218 andhas a flange 266 which stops the movement of the shoe rack into thecarriage. The cross bar 264 has a second flange 268 which "receives ashaft 270, which is spring biased by a torsion spring 272 disposed onone end of the shaft 270 (FIG. 14) and which has mounted on its otherend a lug 276. The shaft 270 has two radially extending pins 267, 269.The spring 272 urges the shaft 270 to rotate clockwise. When the sliderod 218 is down, the pin 267 rests upon a stop 271 which is fixed to thepost 208. When the slide rod 218 moves upwards, the pin 267 disengagesfrom the stop 271 and permits the shaft 270 to rotate clockwise. Thecross bar 264 has mounted thereon an angle plate 273 which sup ports theshaft 270 and which also mounts a second stop 274 which stops theclockwise notation of the shaft 270 by engaging the pin 269. Thus, thelug 276 is I shifted from a substantially vertical position to asubassembly 284 with relation to air holes 282. When it is position.

desired to raise the carriage the operator merely moves the disc 284mounted on the valve 280 upwards to a position designated 284 in FIG. 10so that the disc 284 covers a second set of holes 286. The'air from theair line L is no longer blocked but may pass through the holes 282through an annular passage 290 inside the disc assembly 284, into theholes 286, and into the air tube 281, and into the cylinder 238, actingupon the piston therein and forcing the piston rod 240 downwards,the-reby pulling the carriage upward. When the piston within thecylinder 240 has completed its stroke, the movement of the carriagestops and the shoe rack is in the up position. The disc assembly 284remains in the upper position 284 because of the frictional holdingproperties of a pair of annular rings 285.

When the operator desires to lower the carriage he moves the disc 284downwards, isolating the holes 282 and uncovering the holes 286 whichallow air to escape from the system. The weight of the carriage and shoerack pulls the piston rod 240 out of the'cylinder and the pressurewithin the cylinder decreases.

A guide plate 288 may be fixed to the wire mounting block 242, or may bea part thereof. The guide plate 288 is a bifurcated member having twoarms 289 which are disposed on opposite sides of the rigid air tube 281(FIG. 9). Any tendency of the piston rod 240 to rotate and foul thewires 248, 250 is prevented by the guide plate 288 which ridesvertically along the rigid air tube 281.

In operation, a shoe rack is guided into the angled locating bars 200,226 and then moved sideways until the end rail E3 strikes the flange 266of the cross bar 264. The operator then moves the disc 284 of the airvalve 280 upwards. This energizes the cylinder 238 and starts thecarriage upwards. As soon as the carriage begins to move upwards, thespring 272 causes.

the shaft 270 and the lug 276 to pivot into a locking The upwardmovement of the carriage continues until the piston in the cylinder 238has reached the end of its stroke. The operator then may easily reachthe shoes resting in the lower shelves of the shoe rack. -When he isready for the upper shelves, he moves the disc 284 downwardly andthereby causes the carriage to lower to the floor. Upon reaching thedown position the locking lug 276 returns to a non-locking position.

The above described second embodiment is semi-automatic in both raisingand lowering the shoe rack while the first embodiment may be eithersemi-automatic or automatic in raising the shoe rack. However, thesecond embodiment is of lighter construction, has an extremely simplepneumatic system, and is less costly.

Since certain obvious changes may be made in the illustrative devicewithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matters contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe rack positioning device comprising upright frame members, acarriage mounted for vertical movement on said frame members, saidcarriage being open on at least one side for receiving a shoe factoryshoe rack, means for raising the carriage containing a shoe rack to ashoe machine operator working level, means responsive to the upwardmovement of the carriage for locking a shoe rack in said carriage duringmovement of said carriage, control means for initiating lowering of thecarriage upon signal from a shoe machine operator, and automatic meansfor unlocking a shoe rack so that it may be removed from saidpositioning device, said unlocking means being responsive to saidcarriage return- :ing to floor level.

2. A shoe rack positioning device comprising first and .second uprightframe members, a carriage mounted for vertical movement on said framemembers, a portion of said' carriage being mounted on the first of saidframe members for pivotal movement about the axis of said member forreceiving one end of a shoe factory shoe rack, means for raising thecarriage containing a shoe rack to a shoe machine operator workinglevel, automatic means for locking a shoe rack in said carriage duringmovement of the carriage, said automatic locking means being responsiveto the upward movement of the carriage, control means for initiatinglowering of the carriage upon signal from a shoe machine operator, andautomatic means for unlocking a shoe rack, said auto matic unlockingmeans being responsive to the return of the carriage to floor level.

3. A shoe rack positioning device comprising a frame, a carriage mountedon said frame for receiving a shoe factory shoe rack, said carriageincluding first and second members for receiving first one end and thenthe other end of the shoe rack, respectively, and automatic means forraising said carriage to a shoe machine operator working level inresponse to the receiving of the second end of a shoe rack by the secondof said receiving members.

4. A shoe rack positioning device comprising a frame, a carriage mountedon the-frame member for receiving a shoe factory shoe rack, automaticmeans for raising the carriage containing a shoe rack to a shoe machineoperator working level in response to the receiving of a shoe rack inthe carriage, and control means for initiating lowering of the carriage.

5. A shoe rack positioning device comprising a frame, a carriage.mounted on the frame for receiving a shoe factory shoe rack, automaticmeans for raising the carriage containing a shoe rack to a shoe machineoperator working level in response to receiving of a shoe rack in thecarriage, and control means for initiating lowering of the carriage.

6. A shoe rack positioning device comprising upright frame members, acarriage mounted for vertical movement on said members, said carriagebeing adapted to receive a shoe factory shoe rack, automatic means forraising the carriage containing a shoe rack to a shoe machine operatorworking level, said automatic raising means being actuated by thefullinsertion of a shoe rack into the carriage, and control means forinitiating lowering ofthe carriage upon signal from the shoe machineoperator.

7. A shoe rack positioning device comprising upright frame members, acarriage mounted for vertical movement on said frame members, a portionof said carriage being pivotally mounted on one of said frame membersfor the purpose of receiving one end of a shoe factory shoe rack, meansfor raising the carriage containing a shoe rack to a shoe machineoperator working level, automatic means for locking a shoe rack in saidcarriage during movement of said carriage, control means for initiatinglowering of the carriage, and automatic means for unlocking a shoe rackso that it may be removed from said positioning device, said unlockingmeans being responsive to the return of the carriage to floor level.

8. A shoe rack positioning device comprising upnight frame members, acarriage mounted for vertical movement on said frame members, a portionof said carriage being pivotally mounted on one of said frame membersfor the purpose of receiving one end of a shoe factory shoe rack,automatic means for raising the carriage to a shoe machine operatorworking level, said automatic raising means being responsive to the fullinsertion of a shoe rack in the carriage, automatic means for locking ashoe rack in said carriage during movement of the carriage, saidautomatic locking means being responsive to the upward movement of thecarriage, control means for initiating lowering of the carriage, andautomatic means for unlocking a shoe rack, said automatic unlockingmeans being responsive to the return of the carriage to floor level.

9. A shoe rack positioning device comprising upright frame members, acarriage mounted on said frame members, said carriage comprising a tubemounted for vertical movement on one upright member and a slide assemblymounted for vertical movement on another upright memher, the tube beingpivotally disposed upon its upright member, locating bars attached tothe tube for receiving and retaining one end of a shoe rack, a levermounted on the slide assembly for stopping movement of the other end ofa shoe rack into the carriage, means responsive to the abutting of ashoe rack against said lever for raising the tube and the slide assemblysimultaneously, a locking lug disposed on said slide assembly, meansresponsive to the upward movement of said slide assembly for moving thelug into a rack locking position, control means on the slide assemblyfor initiating lowering of the carriage, and means responsive to thereturn of the carriage to floor level for moving said lug into anon-locking position, thereby releasing a shoe rack for movement out ofthe device.

10. A shoe rack positioning device comprising upright frame members, acarriage mounted on said frame members, said carriage comprising aplurality of rods mounted for vertical movement on upright members, thefirst of said rods being pivotally disposed upon its upright member forthe purpose of receiving one end of a shoe rack, locating bars attachedto the first rod for receiving and retaining said end of a shoe rack, across-bar mounted on the second of the rods and having a flange forstopping movement of the other end of a shoe rack into the carriage,hand control means mounted on one upright frame member for initiatingsimultaneous raising of the rods, a locking lug disposed on saidcross-bar, means responsive to the upward movement of one of said rodsfor moving the log into a rack locking position, control means mountedon one upright member for initiating lowering of the carriage, and meansresponsive to the return of the carriage to the floor level for movingsaid lug into a non-locking position, thereby releasing a shoe rack formovement out of the device.

11. A shoe rack positioning device comprising first and second uprightframe members, a [first carriage means mounted for vertical movement onthe first of said frame members, a second carriage means mounted on thesecond of said frame members, said first and second carriage means beingadapted cooperatively to receive a multishelved shoe factory shoe rack,means for raising the car riage means containing a shoe rack to a shoemachine operator Working level, and control means for initiatinglowering of the carriage means.

12. The invention according to claim 11 in which said first carriagemeans in pivotally mounted and is engageable with one end of amulti-shelved shoe rack.

13. The invention according to claim 11 including means responsive tothe raising of the carriage means for automatically locking a shoe rackin said carriage means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 606,858- 7/ '1898Edwards 214-392 1,289,529 12/ 1918 Overlin 214392 1,837,263 12/1931Glidden 211- 34 2,576,345 11/ 1951 Jacob 2J14392 2,790,555 4/ 1957Horchner 2113-4 3,123,023 3/ 1964 Bronson 1081136 CLAUDE A. LE ROY,Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner.

11. A SHOE RACK POSITIONING DEVICE COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND UPRIGHTFRAME MEMBERS, A FIRST CARRIAGE MEANS MOUNTED FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT ONTHE FIRST OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS, A SECOND CARRIAGE MEANS MOUNTED ON THESECOND OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS, SAID FIRST AND SECOND CARRIAGE MEANS BEINGADAPTED COOPERATIVELY TO RECEIVE A MULTISHELVED SHOE FACTORY SHOE RACK,MEANS FOR RAISING THE CARRIAGE MEANS CONTAINIGN A SHOE RACK TO A SHOEMACHINE OPERATOR WORKING LEVEL, AND CONTROL MEANS FOR INITIATINGLOWERING OF THE CARRIAGE MEANS.